Distribution Metrics

Definition

Distribution metrics quantify the availability of products sold through retailers—usually as a percentage of all potential outlets—and reveal a brand’s percentage of market access.[1] Popular measures of distribution coverage include:

Store versus Brand Measures

Marketers often refer to a grocery chain’s ACV. This can be either a dollar number (the chain’s total sales of all categories in the relevant geographic market) or a percentage number (its share of dollar sales among the universe of stores). A brand’s ACV is simply the sum of the ACVs of the chains and stores that stock that brand.

Marketers can also refer to a chain’s market share in a specific category. This is equivalent to the chain’s PCV (%). A brand’s PCV, by contrast, represents the sum of the PCVs of the chains that stock that brand.